Amadeo Peter Giannini, or A.P. as he was known, established the
Bank of Italy in 1904 in the North Beach district of San Francisco. He initially made his money as a commission merchant and produce dealer for farms in the Santa Clara Valley, but found banks uninterested in being in business with farms, so he decided to open his own bank. The business continued to grow and more branches were opened in the Central Valley. Giannini sought out customers in agriculture, with a focus on expanding the horticulture industry and small farmers. The bank became extremely profitable in the 1920s prior to the Great Depression. While President of the Bancitaly Corporation, Giannini never received a salary or other compensation. In 1926, Bancitaly's directors voted to reimburse Giannini with 5% of the corporation's annual net profits, a figure of $1.5 million. However, he refused to accept the money and asked that it be donated to help California's farmers. Thus, on February 14, 1928, the Bancitaly Corporation presented a gift of $1.5 million to the Regents of the University of California. The board of directors decided that the fund be used strictly in the broad field of
agricultural economics. ==The Activities of the Foundation==